ARK: Survival Evolved vs Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
ARK: Survival Evolved is a mmorpg open-world game from Studio Wildcard (2017) while Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is an action-RPG JRPG game from Capcom (2016).
Quick answer: Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen has the higher Metacritic, 81 to 70.
What each one is
ARK: Survival Evolved is filed under Mmorpg and Open-World. In contrast, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen under Action-RPG and JRPG.
Stranded on the shores of a mysterious island, you must learn to survive. Use your cunning to kill or tame the primeval creatures roaming the land, and encounter other players to survive, dominate... and escape!
Set in a huge open world, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen presents a rewarding action combat experience.
Story, characters and reception
Reception
Reception Ark: Survival Evolved received "mixed or average" reviews for the Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions, while the Switch version received "generally unfavorable" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic . TJ Hafer's 7. 7/10 review on IGN stated that "When I'm having a good time in Ark , I'm having a really good time. (Wikipedia)
Plot
The game opens with a group led by a knight named Savan nearing the end of a quest to defeat the Dragon, a being that signals the end of days. An unknown time later in the present-day Duchy of Gransys, the protagonist's village of Cassardis is attacked by the newly-arrived Dragon. When the protagonist attacks the Dragon, the Dragon takes their heart. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Original version Reception In Japan, Dragon's Dogma received positive reviews from critics, where Famitsu gave the game an overall score of 34 out of 40, based on four reviewer scores of 8, 9, 8, and 9. Famitsu gave it a "Hall of Fame: Gold" award, praising "the game's variety in combat, the effectiveness of working together with Pawns, the exceptionally fun sidequests, and the uniqueness of each vocation. " In the Western world , Dragon's Dogma received… (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| ARK: Survival Evolved | Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.8/10 | 7.8/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (83%, 776,582) | Very Positive (88%, 49,002) |
| Critic aggregate | 70/100 | 81/100 |
| Price | $9.89 | $29.99 |
| Install size | 60 GB | 20 GB |
| Steam Deck | verified | verified |
| Released | 2017 | 2016 |
| Developer | Studio Wildcard | Capcom |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
ARK: Survival Evolved vs Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
ARK: Survival EvolvedMmorpg open-world gameDragon's Dogma: Dark ArisenAction-RPG JRPG gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
ARK: Survival EvolvedOpen World Survival Craft, Survival, Open WorldDragon's Dogma: Dark ArisenRPG, Open World, Character CustomizationThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
ARK: Survival EvolvedScore 7.8 · 83% on Steam · 70 criticDragon's Dogma: Dark ArisenScore 7.8 · 88% on Steam · 81 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
ARK: Survival Evolved776,582 reviews · 18 add-ons · 60 GBDragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen49,002 reviews · 1 add-on · 20 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
ARK: Survival Evolved ✓$9.89Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen$29.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
ARK: Survival EvolvedVerifiedDragon's Dogma: Dark ArisenVerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
ARK: Survival Evolved takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueARK: Survival Evolved and Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The cheaper right now: ARK: Survival Evolved ($9.89)
- Lighter on storage: Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (20 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: ARK: Survival Evolved (776,582 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
MultiplayerOpen WorldAdventureActionSingleplayerRPGDragons
Where they differ
Open World Survival CraftSurvivalDinosaursCraftingBuildingBase-Building
Character CustomizationFantasyAction RPGDark FantasyThird PersonMagic
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, ARK: Survival Evolved is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is demanding, for players who want a challenge.
System requirements, side by side
| ARK: Survival Evolved | Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | NVIDIA GTX 670 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB | Radeon HD 5870 |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Core i5-2400/AMD FX-8320 | Intel Core i5 660 CPU |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| Install size | 60 GB | 20 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: ARK: Survival Evolved · Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for ARK: Survival Evolved and 1 for Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are ARK: Survival Evolved and Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen in scope?
ARK: Survival Evolved has drawn 776,582 Steam reviews, ships 18 add-ons and installs in 60 GB. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen has drawn 49,002 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 20 GB.
Is ARK: Survival Evolved or Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen better?
By the GamingPickz Score, ARK: Survival Evolved rates higher (7.8 to 7.8). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, ARK: Survival Evolved or Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen?
ARK: Survival Evolved is cheaper right now at $9.89, against $29.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get ARK: Survival Evolved or Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen?
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen has the higher Metacritic, 81 to 70. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.